Fremont, California, was ranked the best place to raise a family in the United States in a new ranking by WalletHub published May 26.
The San Francisco Bay Area suburb, located in the southernmost part of Alameda County, has a population of nearly 230,000 and a density of over 2,900 people per square mile, according to World Population Review.
Fremont was incorporated in 1956 when the former towns of Mission San Jose, Centerville, Niles, Irvington, and Warm Springs unified into one city.
The city has a median household income of approximately $181,000, a median home value of $1.48 million, as well as a 63.7 percent Asian population, the highest in the nation, according to HomeSnacks data.
The city is also home to the Fremont Tesla Factory, Tesla’s largest factory, which employs over 20,000 people.
The ranking compared more than 180 cities, including the 150 most populous U.S. cities and at least two of the most populous cities in each state.
The grading system consisted of five categories—family fun, health and safety, education and child care, affordability, and socioeconomics—and 45 weighted metrics, such as walkability, air quality, housing affordability, ideal weather, and others.
Fremont ranked first in socioeconomics, second in education and child care, fifth in health and safety, as well as 13th in affordability, and 81st in family fun.
Fremont’s education quality is notable, as over 70 percent of its public schools are rated at least a seven out of ten, according to the report. Nearly half of the city’s families have children under 18.
One of its high schools, Mission San Jose, ranked 12th in the state and third in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to US News.
The city also reportedly has the second-lowest share of families living in poverty and the fifth-lowest share receiving food stamps.
Irvine, California, an Orange County suburb home to over 300,000 people, ranked third on the list, as well as first in health and safety, fourth in education and childcare, and sixth in socioeconomics.
Irvine has a median household income of nearly $130,000 and a median home value of $1.55 million, according to HomeSnacks data.
The ranking also found that more than 82 percent of Irvine’s schools have at least a seven out of ten rating, the eighth-highest high school graduation rate, and the second-lowest divorce rate in the country.
Other California cities in the top 20 are San Diego at 12th, San Jose at 15th, San Francisco at 18th, and Huntington Beach at 20th. No other state had more than two cities in the top 20.














